Divine
by Gallifreyan Annihilator
Summary: Holmes of the East. Detective of the West. Genius of the North. Magician of the South. Sometimes, titles do more than just describe - especially when the Divine Beasts rear their heads once more. /ShinKai, HeiHaku/
1. Introductions

**AO3 Summary:** Everything falls apart on the day of the Autumn Equinox, when eight-year old Conan Edogawa collapses in the middle of an important case. Meanwhile, a certain Osakan finds himself acquiring abilities beyond his control, a British detective revels in the powers of a long-forgotten warrior, and a phantom thief lights up the sky with brilliant flames. With wood, metal, fire and water gathered once more, four turn to one as earth and void clash, Japanese and Chinese mythology trying to outdo each other in a deadly dance of wits and magic. Who will come out the winner - the witch who wants the world at her fingertips, or the deceptively sharp elementary school genius with nothing left to lose? /ShinKai, HeiHaku/

**FFN Summary:** Holmes of the East. Detective of the West. Genius of the North. Magician of the South. Sometimes, titles do more than just describe - especially when the Divine Beasts rear their heads once more. /ShinKai, HeiHaku/

Note: Names are romanized (first name, last name) because while I don't mind anybody else's names, Edogawa Conan strikes a bad chord in me.

**GA:** Yes, I'll be trying to juggle both this and _Misshapen Diamonds_ at the same time. Not a good idea, but hey. I'm not exactly right in the head.

This is really supposed to be a lighthearted fic, for all its attempts at being serious. Sorry 'bout that. Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTIONS. OR, EVERYBODY'S AN ASSHOLE.**

* * *

Conan Edogawa, despite being small boy no older than eight, was not squeamish in the slightest. In fact, if anybody close to the bespectacled boy were to be asked, they would all agree unanimously that the sight of blood actually spurred his interest, rather than deterred him.

This knowledge, however small, was what sent the homicide division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department into a frenzy when, on the twenty-fifth of September, the Autumnal Equinox, the great young detective stepped onto the crime scene - and promptly collapsed to the ground. As Inspector Megure tried to get his subordinates under control - the amount of chaos caused by an unconscious elementary school student was astounding, really - Ran took the opportunity to scoop Conan up and retreat from the scene, worry creasing her brows.

"This is why you shouldn't bring Conan-kun to crime scenes," Sonoko scolded Ran, even though she knew full well that the supposed eight-year old was more than capable of taking care of himself. "See, everything's gotten to him, and it's just going to hurt him in the long run!" Even as Ran tried to tell herself that it was okay, that Shinichi - _damn him, now was not the time to be thinking of him_ \- had gone to crime scenes at such a young age as well, she knew that Sonoko was at least a little right. Conan _wasn't_ Shinichi, and who knew how poorly he would be mentally after being exposed to so much death? "Ran, are you even listening to me?"

"Y-Yeah, sorry."

As the two girls watched over the unconscious detective, the investigation bustled on - time wouldn't stop, even for the great detective of the east, the diminutive Heisei Holmes.

Not even when he needed it to the most.

* * *

"Heiji, what the fuck is going on with you today?!" Usually, when Kazuha Toyama asked such a blatantly simple question, her reluctant best friend had his head buried in another case, too busy to do much other than form deduction after deduction. Today, however, the question wasn't as simple as Kazuha thought, and Heiji Hattori had other things on his mind than a simple murder mystery.

Frankly, he was more concerned with the silver layer forming on his arm.

He felt the cold, metallic sheet crawl down to his wrist, and angrily tore at it, only for even more to grow in its place. Panic gripped him, his mind stuck between _there was no way logic could explain this away_ and _I'm going to be encased in aluminum and die via asphyxiation_-

"I'm fine, just get outta here!" The warble in his voice gave his bluff, though, and Kazuha growled, ready to kick the bathroom door down if Hattori so much as protested one more time. "I swear ta god, don't ya fucking dare-"

At that point in time, Heiji was only _mildly_ surprised when he flung his arm at the door, and what looked like some sort of metal sealant began to spring up around the edges of the door. Sure, it was weird, but he was about to die soon anyways, so...

As the metal encased the door, he felt the aluminum receding from his body, and a wave of relief washed over him. Still, he _had_ just essentially locked himself into the bathroom, and Kazuha was still raging outside, if the thumps on the door were any indicator of her attempts to kick the now-tightly sealed door open. "Heiji, I swear to god-!"

With another movement of his hand, the metal sheet disappeared from the door, and the wooden barrier between him and Kazuha came flying inward, leaving him at the mercy of his irritated best friend. "Look, I can explain, okay?" Really, he couldn't, but he knew that Kazuha wouldn't take _no_ for an answer. Neither would she believe that Heiji had suddenly gained control over metal - _did that pertain to any metal object as well? He had to try that out someday when he wasn't staring death via proxy in the face_ \- but even telling her that was risky. Especially when he didn't even know how he had managed to procure such a strange ability. "Just...gimme a few days, a'ight? I need ta figure somethin' out."

Kazuha frowned at Heiji, but her anger had slowly ebbed away from at least being able to talk to him face to face. "...fine," she finally conceded roughly, "but I swear I'll kick your ass if I don't get a good story, all right?"

"Fine, fine," he conceded, glad to put her curiosity off for another few days. At least then he could come up with a proper alibi. "Now get outta here, I'm tryin' ta go!"

* * *

The soft light of the moon settled over Ekoda that night, but not all was still. In fact, a crowd had gathered outside the Ekoda Museum of Natural Science, where the curator was unveiling a new exhibit - the same exhibit that Kaito KID had deemed worthy of stealing. Atop the roof was the familiar phantom thief, but he wasn't alone. A black-clad detective accompanied him, several yards away from the thief on the edge of the building yet still close enough to keep a close eye on him. "_Tantei-san_," KID purred, tossing the gem in his possession between his hands. "It seems as though you lucked out. You can keep this, as always."

Hakuba Saguru frowned and caught the gem deftly with one hand as KID threw it at him. "You know I'm not up here for the gem, Kuroba." Before KID could protest, or rather make a comeback that would make Hakuba internally cringe, Hakuba had already stepped forward, opening the palm of his hands to show a small miracle that didn't go unnoticed by the thief. Water had already begun welling up around the target gem, pooling within Hakuba's palm, and yet the source of the water was one that only the two on the rooftop knew.

KID simply stared down at the detective's palm and grinned. "Well I really thought I was going to have more trouble finding you, _Genbu_," he said cheerfully, bowing and sweeping his cape across his body. Almost immediately, it burst into bright red and orange flames, on fire and yet not burning. Flames licked at KID's shoes, embers danced across his monocle, and yet nothing seemed out of place in his display. "I already tracked down Seiryuu and Byakko, but never thought that you were the missing link this entire time~. So now that you know, are you going to stop trying to get me _arrested_?"

The British-Japanese detective's response was a snort of disbelief. "You're not just mad, Kuroba. You're _insane_. I'm still a detective, and you're still a thief. If anything, this'll just make it easier to catch you." Water bubbled up around him, snaking across the rooftop to dance among the phantom thief's flames. Neither moved for a few moments, settling instead for staring at each other while their elements dueled on concrete, but the moment was ruined by the loud footsteps of Inspector Nakamori hurrying up the fire escape.

By the time he was in view, KID's flames were already extinguished. "Well it was nice having this little chat, tantei-san," he said as though nothing had happened between the two. "Nakamori-keibu, late as always. I apologize, but this is my adieu!" Without bothering to release his hang glider, KID gave the two detectives a cheeky grin and jumped off the roof, feet first.

Ginzo Nakamori shouted in horror and ran to the edge to look for the thief, but Hakuba already knew what he would find - nothing, the evidence of KID's presence already being blown away by the wind. And if anybody questioned the particles of ash drifting through the evening breeze, well, they would be the only one.

Even as Inspector Nakamori fumed at Kaito KID's great escape, the blond detective had already walked away, frowning as he recalled the words spoken moments ago. "Damn you, you over-glorified chicken. You knew it was me this entire time, didn't you."

* * *

**GA:** Aaaand that wraps up the first chapter, with some background and a little bit of interaction between the major players. Hopefully it's easy to tell which characters are which divine beasts, but if not, then it should be cleared up by the next chapter. Also we get to see some of the problems that arise, especially with Hathat's abilities, and Conan in particular seems to be taking it hard.

Well, that's all I have for now. I'm working on chapter 2 of _Misshapen Diamonds_, but I already have chapter 2 of _Divine_ done so I might put it up sooner.

Until then!

_~G. Annihilator_


	2. Over-Glorified Chicken

**EDIT 2/25/15: **Edited a canon-compliance problem with Conan's birthday. Oops.

**EDIT 3/20/15:** That entire scene was a clusterfuck. Edited the canon-compliance concerning the birthdays, and pretty much gave those two paragraphs a complete overhaul.

**GA:** Okay, chapter two is up and running! There's not much in this chapter, I guess, quite a lot of dialogue-heavy plot development, and our favorite doppelgangers have some interaction time.

I'm not going to lie, this chapter is actually just one big, 1000+ word long scene...I wanted to add more, but the next chapter is going to be extremely long (for me, at least), so it wouldn't do to have split it up between this and next chapter. Plus, I didn't want to split up all the ~exposition~, haha.

Besides that, I don't have much to say this time around...so on to reviews.

**Tohda:** Well, wait no more, because another chapter's coming at you! I'm excited to write the rest of it, too, and I hope you'll stick around for the ride~!  
**Miss Emotion:** I'm glad you decided to give this fic a try, despite that! Thank you, I really appreciate it! ouo

And I know you all have been waiting, so without further ado...enjoy!

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO: WELL AT LEAST THE OVER-GLORIFIED CHICKEN WAS RIGHT.**

* * *

Of course, the one time that Conan actually decided to call Heiji of his own free will, and the Osakan left him with a _dial tone_. After the fiasco the day before - which led to him missing the KID heist, although he deemed that a trivial setback in and of itself - he had tried to contact Ai, but it seemed as though she had gone AWOL for the weekend; not even Agasa was able to get a hold of her. His first assumption was that his collapse had something to do with the latest dose that she had tried on him, but the trial had been over a month ago, and Haibara still hadn't come up with another possible formula, so his theory was thin on evidence.

So instead of fretting over it, he had decided to call up Heiji, hoping that he could at least talk to somebody who wouldn't baby him like Ran had been doing the entire afternoon. She had just stepped out to let him take a nap - _I am a grown, eighteen year old man, Ran, I don't need to take a _nap - leaving Conan alone to make a hushed phone call...to an idiot who wouldn't even pick up the phone.

With a grunt, he laid back down on his bed and placed his voice-shifting bowtie on the table. Honestly, he didn't feel that bad, just..._tired_. It was as if there wasn't a single bone in his body willing to move the way he wanted it to, as if even staring at the wall was a struggle. Maybe Ran was right about that nap...

"Don't fall asleep now, tantei-kun, you'll miss the best part."

Conan's eyes snapped open at the familiar voice, and his head swiveled to the balcony, where a familiar figure dressed in a black _gakuran_ was leaning precariously on the railing. "KID," he croaked, "what the _fuck_ are you doing here?"

The thief simple tsk'ed at the young detective, waggling a finger good-naturedly. "Language, tantei-kun. We can't let Ran hear you using such foul language around the other kids, can we?" Before Conan could snark back with a bland retort, he plowed on with his reply. "Are you feeling okay, Seiryuu? I know your health can get kind of pesky during the Autumnal Equinox, but I didn't realize it was _this_ bad. I was worried when I didn't see you at my heist last night, but when I heard that Byakko was playing around with metal detectors, I realized that maybe you were awakening, you know? So lo and behold, I decide to check up on you, and I'm right. Nothing hurts, right? I had some catnip on me, but I ditched it before hitting Osaka - I wasn't sure if your friend had already started growing in or not. Wait, is catnip toxic to you? Because I know you're the whole verdant overlord and all that, but I think reptiles are allergic to nip. Fuck, I don't even know if you're a reptile. Would you prefer cannabis- oh who am I kidding, you're biologically eight years old. I'm not an _idiot_. Maybe I should have stuck with the aspirin."

Conan blinked once, twice, three times before responding. "What." He opened his mouth once, closed it, opened it again, and finally closed it before deciding what to say. "What are you _on_?"

"Not marijuana," was the thief's easy response. "You see, here is where I would make a joke about blazing it, but I've got enough of that to last a lifetime." A beat of silence before KID's eyes widened comically. "Wait, you don't know about the divine beasts, do you?"

Conan shot KID a deadpan look before grunting. "Of course I know about the divine beats, you idiot. You stole the Horn of Kirin that one time, and-"

"No no no, not the legends," KID cut him off. "Well, _strictly speaking,_ not the legends. I'm talking about the whole inheritance thing." The look Conan gave him was enough to clue KID in, and he sighed melodramatically. "Okay, when you were born - no, when _we_ were born, because the four of us are inexplicably bonded in ways that the fates determine - ew _gross_, I don't want to have a weird string of fate with that bastard-"

"Off-topic," Conan said tiredly, wanting to fall asleep even though he knew the babbling thief would let him do no such thing.

"Right right, like I was saying. When we were born, the stars decided to align in just the right position so that the four divine beasts - you know the ones, Seiryuu, Suzaku, Byakko and Genbu - would grant us powers stemming from their abilities. Of course, it's not like there's no _purpose_ for these powers, but I still need to do some research. The last Suzaku, the one that I was reading up on, died over ten years ago, so I'm trying to scrounge up whatever info I can find on Google. The only one alive right now is Genbu, and...well, water and fire don't exactly get along."

Conan sighed loudly; he knew that KID was eccentric, but this was going way too far. Honestly, did he actually _believe_ some of the things that came out of his mouth? "I can't be Seiryuu, if that's what you're thinking," he finally said, lying between his teeth. "I'm eight years old, you know. If you think the stars lined up or something, then they lined up a decade too late."

"Who knows what the stars are thinking, tantei-kun," KID replied with the slightest shrug, which made Conan frown slightly. He was expecting a different reaction from the thief, one that involved secret-telling and truth-denying. Instead, he got...a shrug. "Maybe they forgot to assign Seiryuu until you showed up, maybe they were waiting for somebody worthy of being among the ranks of the divine beasts. All I know is that you are Seiryuu, and nothing is going to change that. No matter how much everybody's complains, we are each our own, and have to act accordingly."

"And who _are_ Genbu and Byakko?" Conan decided to humor the thief for just a little bit, if just to see how deep his illusions of grandeur really went. "Somebody we know?"

"Genbu is an asshole," KID stated firmly, and Conan snrk'ed at the fact that with a single word, he already knew who he was referring to. Apparently, the magician had never gotten along with one Saguru Hakuba. "As for Byakko...well, you tried calling him earlier, right? He's probably unintentionally jamming the signal. Osaka's been having rolling blackouts because tantei-han can't control his magnets."

Conan paled at the thought of Heiji with powers beyond his control, but a moment of thought brought him back down to earth; of course he didn't have powers. KID was being ridiculous. "You think I'm lying, or making this whole thing up," KID said casually, as though he hadn't just accurately read Conan's body movements into his thoughts. "And really, I don't blame you. It's all a bit to take in at first. I almost set my poor doves on fire the first time I tried messing around with my abilities." He seemed to droop at the memory, but sprung back quickly and snickered, playing with a small fireball in his hands.

_Wait, what._

Conan's gaze remained on the small puff of flame dancing around KID's fingers, and the thief smirked at his piqued interest. "Tantei-kun, please. This is just the _basics_." He let the bubble of fire float away from his fingertips, and it came to a rest in front of Conan's face. The heat coming off of the entity made it obvious that the fire was real, and yet it wasn't being supported or fueled by any visible contraption in the room. It was logically impossible, and yet it was _real_. "You can do it too, if you really try."

Conan frowned at the thought, but the idea was too tempting. As rooted as he was in logic, the completely ridiculous concept of him being Seiryuu - _Seiryuu, of all beings!_ \- was something he _wanted_ to wrap his head around. A small shaky hand lifted up to grasp the ball of fire, and Conan hissed in surprise as he felt a burning sensation in his palm - only for it to rapidly disappear as his hand clenched the flame.

The palm of his hand was an ashen black, but upon further inspection, it wasn't his hand at all. Instead, scorched leaves were sprouted from his palm lines, protecting his bare skin from the heat of the fire that he had just put out. "I..." Conan stared at his hand for several moments, watching the leaves gently peel themselves off of his skin and fall into his lap. "What did I just do?"

"Oh, _you_ didn't do anything," KID replied smoothly. "That wasn't you, not really. It was your subconscious telling you to defend yourself, and then your body reacting to the heat. No, what you can do when you're conscious of your abilities is so much more." KID grinned widely, thinking back to all of the tricks he had managed to expand with his control over fire - none that he had unveiled to the public yet, but soon enough. "Imagine entire forests bowing down to you, wildflowers growing where there used to be nothing but concrete - that's what you're capable of, Seiryuu."

A smug grin flourished on Conan's face before paling into a sickly white. "I think that took too much out of me," he confessed, and KID was courteous enough to fluff up his pillow before laying the kid flat on his back. "Is it because of the Autumnal Equinox?"

KID nodded in reply. "You're at your weakest on the first day opposite your season; in your case, since you rule over Spring, the Autumnal Equinox drains your power. I rule over Summer, so I don't plan on having any heists during the Winter Solstice." He frowned childishly. "Not to mention that it's that bastard's strongest day..." He smirked at Conan nonetheless. "But you should be better in a few days. Apparently, you don't even notice your weakness after a few cycles. Oh, speaking of, I was going to pay tantei-han a visit tomorrow, since he's coming off of his Autumnal high. Want to accompany me?"

As much as Conan wanted to pass up the opportunity - he was still new to the concept of living, breathing divine beasts, and didn't want to deal with a prankster Suzaku and hotheaded Byakko at the same time - he knew instinctively that he would have to be the one keeping the others in line. And if KID was right about Heiji, then it would be dangerous for KID to go alone. "Fine," he said after a moment. "But I can't just call you Suzaku the entire time, and like hell I'm going to tell Ran that I'm going on a roadtrip with Kaito KID."

The thief snickered to himself. "Well aren't you hasty, tantei-kun. But that's fine, I know you won't sell me out - not when we've just shared this special heart to heart." Conan glared at him to hurry him up. "My name is Kaito Kuroba, my dear Conan-kun. It is nice to make your acquaintance."

Conan sighed. "It's good to meet you too, Kuroba-san, now _get out of my room_." With one final huff at the newly-named thief, Conan turned over and shut his eyes. Mental age be damned, he _really_ needed a nap.

* * *

**GA:** Alas, poor Conan may never find the time to nap after this chapter. Things are going to get a little hectic~. Especially since they get to take a trip to Osaka to visit a certain detective...and there might be another surprise in store for them when they get there.

However, I'm going to _try_ to update _Misshapen Diamonds_ before I put chapter 3 up here (and also try to finish ch4 before I get to publishing ch3). Chances are I won't, but I'll still try.

'Til then!

_~G. Annihilator_


	3. Shut Up

**GA:** For the love of god, rewatching the _Gouka no Himawari_ trailer while trying to characterize a firebird Kaito was not a good idea. My kokoro is brokoro. Oh hey, look, is that a cover picture? I made it myself, but...eh. I tried, I guess.

Before I end up retconning myself, Kaito **DOES NOT** know that Conan and Shinichi are the same person. His suspicions simply end at Conan's not a normal kid. He has a vague clue that Conan's hiding something very important, but he has yet to directly connect Con and Shin, because he's never seen Shinichi before (not directly, at least), and Agasa has been good at keeping information about Shinichi and Conan separate (besides them being cousins, but Kai's never had the need to investigate Shinichi, only Conan). Of course, this also means that this fic isn't movie-compliant, but that's the way it goes. This becomes plot-relevant later, so...yeah. Fanfic compliance trumps movie compliance this time.

Also, I have a special treat for you guys that should be uploaded by the time you finish reading this chapter. Check out the first case file from this AU, _Painted Memories_. A locked room mystery, a poisonous challenge, a metal-bending Osakan...is there anything _not_ to love?

* * *

**REVIEWS**

**Miss Emotion:** Pffft I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! And Conan's a bit surprised that he managed to get Kaito's real identity out of him so easily, but hey, you know? Don't look a gift phantom thief in the mouth.  
**Starlitedragons:** Poor Osaka, Heiji's ruining EVERYTHING. Haha, just kidding, but you do get to see more of him in this chapter, and his unfortunate ability to make things go haywire.  
**Yannami:** Haaah, I'm glad I could help amp up your vocab! Since you brought it up, I added a bit of information about the divine beasts in this chapter, and it's also explained in-canon, during Kaito KID's Horn of Kirin heist. Hm~ I try to paint Conan as more of an Occam's Razor type of person than a 100% logic person, if just because of the effects that the APTX had on him (shrinking people is more of a magic potion thing than a miracle drug thing), so it was a bit easier to convince him than, say, Hattori will be in this chapter. Also, Kai was worried about his favorite critic~ Actually, there's a bit more to it than that, but I can't say much without spilling a few unprepared beans. As for Conan, he's seen KID up close and personal so many times that he's pretty much known what Kai really looks like for a while now (AKA, the fact that Kaito looks unfortunately similar to him). The only thing he hasn't done has tracked him down for real, which, of course, he doesn't have to do anymore now that Kai has revealed himself.  
**ForgetfulDaffodil:** Oh, you _bet_ he's having the worst day of his life. Not to mention it's getting worse...!  
**Neonquincy1217:** Unfortunately, Heiji and Kaito don't get much solo interaction in this chapter, but I'm definitely going to write more about them in upcoming chapters. For now, though, they get to bond over beating up Hakuba.  
**Assasin8:** Aah, thanks! i haven't seen YYH yet, but it's on my to-watch list. Haha, there's a little bit more explanation in this chapter, too, just as a last resort. And here's the update you've been waiting for, so without further ado...~!

**Shameless plug:** I notice a lot of you guys coming from Poirot Cafe~. If you're a DCMK author or like reading DCMK fanfic, then you should defos check it out. The community is incredible, and is probably the only reason I got the motivation to publish _Divine_. Not gonna lie. Best crew ever.

And now onto the part that y'all have been waiting for, chapter three. Enjoy!

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE: LITERALLY SHUT UP, HEIJI**

* * *

"...You're not one for being inconspicuous, are you."

Conan had told Ran as much as he could about his Osaka roadtrip - which wasn't much. Leaving out the fluff about the divine beasts and his newfound powers left a basic skeleton that wouldn't have held up if his best friend slash sister figure (god bless her heart, really) hadn't been so dense. As it was, though, she had simply asked to meet the mysterious Kaito taking Conan on a cross-country trip.

What neither of them expected was for Kaito to roll up to the Mouri Detective Agency in a limousine. Ran had immediately taken Kaito for a rich boy type, while Conan just hoped his ride wasn't a stolen vehicle.

"Ah, you must be the infamous Ran-neechan I've heard so much about," Kaito had ignored Conan's bland comment in favor of greeting Ran while she was still overcoming the shock of being met by a Kudo doppelganger. "Did Conan already tell you about me?"

She snapped to attention at his words, grinning at him. "Of course he did, Kaito-kun. He seemed really excited about the trip, too. It'll do him some good, after the other day."

"Really? That excited?"

Kaito glanced down at where Conan was tying his shoes, and the detective deadpanned back up at him. "Absolutely _enthralled_." He took his time collecting his backpack as Kaito and Ran chatted with each other, mildly concerned by how easily she was warming up to an international jewel thief. "Kaito-niisan, I'm ready."

"Have fun, Conan-kun," Ran said, obviously trusting Kaito more than Conan himself. Still, he feigned excitement and gave her one last hug before begrudgingly letting Kaito take him by the hand and throw his bag in the back seat.

He didn't speak until the limo was in the streets, at which point he fixed onto Kaito a glare. "A limo, KID? _Really_?"

"Don't worry, tantei-kun," Kaito reassured him, returning the 'professional' nickname with his own. "It's actually mine. I'm not a car thief, you know." Conan snorted in reply, but didn't question him further. Instead, his focus turned to the flowers randomly taking up space around the cabin, as well as the many sproutlets growing in the cupholders.

"You brought all of these for me," Conan stated rather than asked, and Kaito smirked and nodded. Conan experimentally reached his hand out to one of the freshly cut hydrangeas seated closest to him, marveling at how it reacted to his presence. The petals perked up ever so slightly as his fingers brushed them, the entire flower blossoming more vibrantly as he took a hold of its stem. A single will, and the flower had already began resprouting roots - and wouldn't stop.

Conan clutched the hydrangea in his hands, palms turning white against the pressure of nails against skin. "Drop it, Conan!" Kaito barked as a rootlet flicked past his face, and he barely avoided getting his face whipped by the frenzying roots. As soon as Conan let go of the hydrangea, a flame sparked to life on its blossom, quickly destroying the flower, and turning its roots to ash. "_Are are_," he sighed as the ashes settled in the air, making Conan sneeze but not affecting Kaito in the slightest. "You really are a mess, aren't you, Seiryuu. Well, we have plenty of time to fix that."

Conan didn't bother with a reply, mortified at himself for having lost control of his powers. It was the first time he had manipulated something to that extent, that much was true, but he had almost hurt somebody he (begrudgingly? Against his will?) admired. "Shut up, Suzaku," he finally groused, and curled up in his seat, being careful not to touch any of the other plants.

Kaito sighed at Conan's melodramatic behavior - _acting like a proper seven-year old for once, but it wasn't the time for that_ \- but let the kid mope by himself. If Conan's and Heiji's relationship was anything like his and Hakuba's, then the eastern detective would be up and running in no time. If he was lucky, the two would be able to burn out any excess energy, as well. For now, though, he simply kept an eye on him, making sure the toddler _tantei_ didn't try to throw himself out of the moving vehicle. It would do no good to just make Conan mad at him, after all.

It wasn't until a few good minutes later that Conan spoke up again. "How did you find out about...all _this_? I doubt you just woke up one day and realized that you were housing the spirit of a giant bird."

"Ah." That was a complicated - and slightly loaded - question, but one that Kaito was willing to explain. In time. "Let's just say my old man was good at keeping secrets until they were meant to be told."

Another silence enveloped them, as Conan respectfully said nothing more on the matter. After having learned KID's true identity, he had managed to do some digging to find out more about the thief's past, and maybe his purpose for stealing. Of course, none of it was pretty. The gist was easy enough, that Kaito's father - the world renowned Kuroba Toichi, who his own mother seemed to have known well - was the original Kaito KID and had been killed through mysterious means, but it was too early to ask for any details. Instead, he opted to remain quiet, which Kaito was glad for.

The silence was finally broken by the driver - an old man who looked suspiciously familiar, even though Conan knew for a fact that he had never met him - who signaled that the ride had come to a stop. "Bocchama," his voice came low and suspicious, "be careful. There is another car parked not too far away."

"Well that makes things easier," Kaito commented casually, and Conan frowned. The car in question was also a limousine, which meant that the owner was somebody of high esteem; since Kaito seemed unperturbed by the development, it meant that the other vehicle most likely belonged to Hakuba. So all four of them were present...

...and Hattori had serious issues with the Brit. This wasn't going to end well.

Still, Conan followed behind Kaito, who seemed to be not unnerved, but excited at the prospect of having Hakuba join them. They walked the next half block towards the Hattori residence, looking the part of a teen and his kid brother, and it seemed almost unnatural, how quiet the area was - until a certain Osakan went flying through his front door and into pure brick on the other side of the road, accompanied by shards of ice and debris. By the time Conan had run over to check Hattori's vitals, the other was unconscious, slumping against the wall gracelessly. "You sure did a number on him, Hakubastard," Kaito whistled. "Was he getting too rowdy? Did you have to put the poor kitty cat down?"

"Shut up, KID," Hakuba said as he stepped through the doorframe. "He's unconscious, not _dead_."

"I'm not KID," Kaito growled back, even as he watched Conan tend to Hattori's wounds.

"Right," was Hakuba's bland response. "And there just so happens to be two infernal firebirds running around this country." Kaito simply huffed, joining Conan at Hattori's side as he used his flames to gently melt the ice stuck inside the Osakan's many cuts and scrapes.

It was amazing that he wasn't hurt any worse, the thief decided, but he supposed that was the benefit of having control over metal. Had Hattori put up a real struggle? If so, then he was surprised that Hakuba could lay a finger on him at all, since it was Hattori's ruling season and was probably at the peak of his power.

Speaking of Hakuba, he was approaching Hattori as well, and Kaito noticed Conan's eyes turn several shades closer to green, the grass poking up out of the concrete quivering at the verdant boy's power. "First of all," Kaito intoned as the aura around Conan grew thick, "you're an idiot for making Seiryuu mad, Genbu. And second of all, you do realize that Byakko's just going to wake up even _more_ pissed at you, right?"

"Suzaku." Conan's voice, deeper than even his deductive voice and almost on par with that of Kaito himself, permeated the air. "Stop me before I do something I regret." With a long, drawn out sigh, Kaito resisted the urge to throw himself off of the nearest building - not that it would _do_ much, to be honest, not when he was dry and perfect for tinder - and instead grabbed Conan by the collar, holding him in his hand like a queen would carry her kits.

"Let's get you inside, _tantei-kun_," he muttered under his breath, tossing the kid over his shoulders and motioning for Hakuba to do the same with Hattori. "Looks like you're up for an ordeal today."

* * *

"I _told_ you he's not dead." When Hattori awoke, he had expected to be in his bed, the entire fiasco with Hakuba just a terrible nightmare that he could shove out of his mind for the rest of eternity.

Fate, however, did not grace him with such a relief. Hovering above him were two familiar faces - why _Kudo_ of all people was here, he had no idea - while a third was apparently at the foot of his bed, the only thing visible of the mysterious figure a blob of unruly black hair. "The fuck happened?" He spat, trying to sit up slowly as he clutched at his right shoulder - damn, it hurt like a bitch, and it was bandaged to boot. He felt cold everywhere, and Ku- _Conan_ shoved him back down, glaring across at Hakuba as he did so.

"You were attacked by a snapping turtle," was the third person's cheerful reply, and he finally showed his face, revealing a kid who looked almost exactly like Shinichi, even though there were slight differences that made it obvious that this kid was just a look-alike and nothing more. "So who's up for some turtle soup tonight?"

Hattori blinked once, twice, three times at the Shinichi look-alike before glancing at Conan. "Kaito Kuroba," he explained briefly. "Suzaku."

"And Kaito K-"

"_I am not KID._" Kaito cut Hakuba off with a stern glare before turning his attention back to Hattori. "Anyways, how're you feeling? I'm pretty sure I got all of the ice out, but who the hell knows with how bad Hakubastard shattered all over your wounds. Or is it Genbastard, now?"

Hakuba snorted. "I did not shatter on _anybody_. It was because Hattori-san refused to blunt the attack. How was I supposed to estimate his ineptitude?"

"What didja say?" Hattori was fully awake and functional at that point, and cast a scathing look at Hakuba. "It ain't my fault that yer stupid icicles don't know how ta aim right-!"

The two glared daggers at each other, and Kaito sighed at the two, becoming the mature one for just a moment to spray flames to separate them. "Ladies, ladies," he chimed in as the two jumped back from the heat gathering between them, "you're both beautiful, but now's not the time for Miss Japan. Please, we need to keep things on track. I'm assuming you didn't explain anything to dear tantei-han?"

"Not yet. I was going to, but he tried to punch me in the face before I could get a word out."

Kaito raised an eyebrow at that. "But you look totally fine to me."

"_Tried to_, Kuroba."

"Kekeke, he should've tried harder."

"If he would'nt've turned int'a puddle, I woulda bruised his pretty li'l face-!"

Conan raised an eyebrow at the half-Brit, but said nothing against him; in fact, it was actually Hakuba who decided to break the tension between the two who barely knew each other, as Kaito and Hattori started bickering between themselves. "Conan Edogawa, I presume?" A sparkle of amusement flickered in his eyes before he continued. "It's an honor to finally meet the esteemed _tantei-kun_ in a less homicidal setting."

The way Hakuba held himself, Conan noted, was with cocky pride, but not in the way that KID held himself. Instead of a cheerful improvisation, it was a knowing type of arrogance, one that made the smaller detective wonder exactly _how much_ the blond knew. While it was obvious that he knew about the situation at hand, a shudder ran through Conan at the thought of him knowing more about himself. "And I take it you're the great Saguru Hakuba, the genius famed not only in Japan, but overseas as well. The honor is mine, _Saguru-niisan_."

The look that Hakuba gave him was cryptic, but he had little time to try and decipher it as a firebolt went flying towards them. A twining root came up to greet it before it hit either of the detectives, but was beaten to the bunch by a transparent hand reaching to grab the ball of flame. Hakuba sighed, letting his aquatic arm drop back to his side. "Kuroba, watch where you're pointing that thing."

Kaito simply smirked and swiveled his right hand, pointed in the L-shape of a gun, so that it was facing Hattori, who looked about as surprised as Conan was sure he was the first time around. "So, whaddaya say, _tantei-han_? Believe us now?"

"You're saying he didn't believe you, after being concussed against a cement wall like he was?" Conan rolled his eyes - an action he was pretty sure would be repeated quite often in the coming days - and wandered back over to Hattori's side. "You're just showing off."

"A' course I didn't believe it!" Hattori butted in. "The hell is this, some kinda _joke_? There's no fuckin' way we're the- the-"

"The divine beasts," Conan supplied, and Hattori nodded vigorously. "I didn't believe it at first, either, but apparently it's the real deal. And apparently fate has a sick sense of humor."

He glanced at each of them in return, realizing just how fitting their roles were. Each god had their own distinct personality, and he watched them shine within each of the four, himself included.

Kaito Kuroba, Kaito KID. He held the power of the vermilion bird of the South, the phoenix Suzaku who ruled over Summer and maintained the element of fire. Apropos, really, for somebody as flashy and dangerous as the phantom thief. Maybe _too_ apropos.

Then there was Heiji Hattori, who was chosen by Byakko, the white tiger. He governed both Autumn and the element metal, somehow fitting for the hard-headed Osakan detective. Also fitting for the Great Detective of the West to be related to the divine beast that controlled the same cardinal direction.

Next was Saguru Hakuba, the half-Brit who was connected to the black turtle Genbu. His English heritage made him perfect for his role, what with Genbu ruling over the North and all, as well as the season of Winter and element of water. Cool and calculating, like ice.

And of course, Conan himself, Kudo Shinichi. His was probably the most tragic of all, if he had to admit it. Seiryuu was the azure dragon, green not blue, and ruled over the East, Spring and wood. Conan let out a low chuckle at the thought; Seiryuu was connected with growth and the beginning of life, and yet was bestowed upon a teen who had done the exact opposite and shrunk.

"_Kekeke_," Kaito emitted one of his signature cackles, interrupting his train of thought. "You're the only one whose powers tantei-han hasn't seen yet, right? I'd say you should give him a taste of what Seiryuu can do. Maybe he'll believe the ever-so-stoic tantei-kun."

"No." Conan's reply was automatic, without hesitation. After what happened on the way there, he didn't want to risk hurting the others. No, he wouldn't exercise his powers in front of them, not until he knew he could control them properly. "I wouldn't be of much help. This guy's skull is too thick for me to say anything to change his mind."

Hattori bristled at the insinuation, retorting with, "I'll show ya a thick skull-!" He reached over to yank at Conan's ears, and the tiny detective yowled as he was assaulted by the Osakan. Instinctively, the flowers on his windowsill began to writhe angrily, wrapping their rapidly growing tendrils around his wrists and neck. Bound by the leafy vines, Hattori winced and stopped harassing Conan, but his relenting did nothing to stop the haywire plants from trying to strangle him.

Blue irises faded to silver quickly as the lights flickered around the house, nails tearing at flowers as Heiji unintentionally shut down the power grid for the city block. "A li'l help would be great, thanks," he rasped out as jagged metal tore from his hands into the vines. "Y'know, so I don't die 'r anythin'!"

Water and fire came to life among the thick vines, slashing and burning as Hattori dropped Conan completely. As soon as Kaito and Hakuba jumped into the fray, the plants stopped growing, but it took some effort to get rid of the ones already coiled thickly around him.

Conan rubbed at his sore face, glaring at Hattori as metal flaked off of his ears and cheeks. It wasn't the only place that had thick silver lining, though, as platinum peeled from Hattori's wrists and neck. His autonomic defenses were probably the only things that had stopped Hattori from receiving anything worse than a bruised ego. He was lucky, too, since Conan did quite the number with his abilities, and against his will, too. "Do you get it now?"

Hattori simply sat in place, not moving for a few moments before he made his decision. "I'm...I'm still not gonna buy inta the whole _Si Xiang_ thing, but a' least it's an excuse fer these stupid powers." His comment was met with mixed reactions. Conan deadpanned at his friend's impossibly idiotic stubbornness, while Kaito grinned and clapped Hattori on the shoulder and Hakuba rolled his eyes before muttering something under his breath. "Speakin' a' which, I need ta get the grid checked out. Again. Damn power keeps goin' out, and I'unno why." The other three glanced around at each other. "A joke. 'T was a _joke_."

Still, the exchanged glances were of weariness and an overall sense of _I give up with this guy_. As the others all made to leave, Hattori jumped up and tried negotiating with them, but to no avail. "I have class tomorrow, Heiji-niisan," Conan said childishly, batting his eyes in obvious satire before turning away from the Osakan and muttering a few choice words under his breath as he strode out of the room. Kaito shrugged helplessly and gestured at Conan before also taking his leave, leaving Hakuba as the last to bid farewell to him.

"Oi, Hakuba." It was Hattori's stern voice that stopped him from absconding immediately, a more mature voice than Hakuba was used to hearing from him, and he gave the Osakan a questioning glance. "Kuroba. He's really...?"

As Hattori trailed off, urging the other detective to continue, Hakuba simply hummed and glanced upwards and to the right; it was an easy tell for when somebody was lying, but they both knew that Hakuba knew that fact as well. "I did say that, didn't I?" He gave a small shrug before returning his gaze to Hattori. "I don't have conclusive evidence, you do realize. Otherwise he would be behind bars already."

Hakuba's change in demeanor was surprising, and Hattori couldn't tell if the Brit was condescendingly taunting him or actually protecting Kaito. "If y'aren't gonna tell me, then ya might as well git outta here, idjit," he growled finally, not caring one way or the other. Despite his words, Hakuba's statement had been enough of a confirmation; what little Hattori already knew about KID from Conan correlated enough with what he knew about Kaito, and he highly doubted there more than _three_ Kudo doppelgangers running around.

Hattori would eat his own damned _shoe_ if there was.

"Of course, Hattori-kun. And if you don't mind hearing me out on a question of my own." He paused, waiting for Hattori's inevitable nod for him to continue. "It's concerning the disappearance of Shinichi Kudo and subsequent appearance of Conan Edogawa."

He said nothing more on the matter, simply smirking as he waited for Hattori's answer. The Osakan was unsure of what to say, himself. While Hakuba had proved his trustworthiness - to an extent - and had confirmed his suspicions about Kaito, he didn't know how much he could tell the other about Shinichi, especially when it wasn't his story to tell. Finally, he gave an identical shrug to Hakuba's prior one. "What about? Yer crazy if ya think a brat like that could be my greatest rival, y'know." He had enough at that point, and shooed Hakuba out of his house, ignoring his raised eyebrow at Hattori's open-ended answer. "I'd say it was good ta see ya, but I'd be lyin'," he said through the door, grateful that it hadn't been torn off of its hinges when he had crashed into it. "Seeya later, Genbu."

"And you as well, Byakko."

Hattori finally let out a long, drawn out sigh as he heard Hakuba leave, and peeked outside to take a look at the damage done to his front lawn.

...Damnit, those bastards left him with all the cleaning.

* * *

**GA:** Ugh, that ending was so laaaaaame, but it was already getting really long-winded so I had to cut it. Next chapter is fun elementary school shenans, some plot stuff, and also secrets! It also gives me a bit of time so I can write the case files, too.

Like I said earlier, check out _Painted Memories_, which features Hattori's metal powers, and be on the look out for chapter 4.

'Til next time!

_~G. Annihilator_


	4. Shots Fired, Pt 1

**GA:**

[Clears throat] I, er, apologize for the long wait, and I have an announcement to make regarding this fic's update schedule and my personal life. **If you are sensitive to the following topics, please don't read this announcement: mental health, self harm, suicide. Skip straight to the bold (A). **

Back in early May - to be exact, May 4th - I suffered from a self-inflicted overdose. I was subsequently hospitalized in first a medical hospital, then a psychiatric facility. I have since then been on treatment for severe anxiety and depression, which includes both medicine and therapy, not to mention I've been having to fill out paperwork for both hospitals _and_ my school, to which I'm planning to go back in the Fall. Now, I love _Divine_ to death, and I truly appreciate those of you reading it, but:

**(A)** My mental health comes before fanfiction, so updates may, and will, be much slower coming. That could mean weeks, or even months, between chapters. If you still would like to follow_ Divine_, I'd be grateful, but I don't blame you if you'd rather drop it. And also...

**(B)** I don't have a good track record with multichapter fics in the first place. People who read _TBC_ or any of my other ventures can attest to this: I can update three times in quick succession, then not update for months on end, then start _another_ fic, and _then_ finally update my original multichap. It's a bad habit, and I know that you as my readers may hate this kind of skipping around, but I honestly can't help it.

I would also really appreciate it if you **don't send reviews on other fanfics that I write asking about any of my other fics.** It makes me feel like shit (see point A), and also it's not going to make me publish it any faster. Feel free to **PM me **occasionally, maybe just to stop by and ask me how it's going, or even leave a review on _Divine/DCF_ itself, but don't ask me about it through a review on a completely unaffiliated fic. That means don't ask for _Divine/DCF_ on any non-_DCF _oneshots I may post, don't ask for, I don't know, _STK_ on any _Divine/DCF_ updates I may have, etc.

**REGARDING THE BIRTHDAY ERROR IN CHAPTER 2:** Iwent back and deleted that entire scene and added in another in its place. I'd advise that you read it (despite it being only one or two paragraphs difference), because it brings up an important piece of information that I had only mentioned in the author's note before.

**REGARDING NAMES:** I have decided to go back to proper Japanese formatting (surname, given name) because I've grown more used to it through RP. I'll try to update the chapters before this one ASAP, but seeing how long this chapter took...I have to prioritize new chapters over editing past ones for the time being. And now, onto...

**REVIEWS**

**Tohda:** Ah, thank you! I'm curious, though, what part of them don't you like? I like hearing people's reasons for liking/disliking characters. Call me Hakuba, but "how come" is my favorite word(s). Haha, chapter 2 had been up for a while, but it looks like you got twice as much to read this time, so enjoy~.  
**RPhysics: **Screeches quietly, I love Alaena F. Dragonstar? It's legitimately such an honor to be compared, since to be honest I barely hold a candle to her works, but still thank you so much! Hehe, I'm sort of a mythology buff, so I'm really enjoying milking it for it's worth.  
**ForgetfulDaffodil: **Ah Heiji, ever the comic relief. He won't stay that way for long, though, even if he's still the butt of most of the jokes. Wait no longer, because the next chapter is upon you-!  
**Assasin8:** Woohoo, plot! Haha, I'm glad you like the character interactions, they all have their nuances between each other. Shinichi is definitely making an appearance- in fact, he'll be playing an extremely pivotal role later on in the second half of the plot~. Conan's going to have a _lot_ of fun with his powers; there's one incident in this chapter involving Ran and a birdbath...  
**Miss Emotion:** Aah, Hakuba doesn't get much screen time in canon, so I'm trying to write him as best as I can. As serious as he is, he has no secrets to keep from the rest of the group, so instead he plays the know-it-all who spends his time digging up other people's secrets and then doing what he pleases. I may not have written him as conscientious of social etiquette as he should be, oops. Note to self: don't punch anymore people through walls.  
**Eyeinthesky: **I've never thought about a Western element line-up, but it makes sense. Hot-headed Hattori, cool calm Shinichi, flighty easy-going Kaito and down-to-earth Hakuba, huh?  
**Marie Ravenclaw:** Hehe...yeah...I, er. Deleted everything about that scene. But thank you nonetheless!  
**Guest:** Haha, thanks! Heiji does seem to be shaping up to be the comic relief so far...and don't worry about pressuring me, honestly, just saying "hope you update" or "can't wait for the next chapter" is kind of nice to hear.

And now that that's over, this chapter is extremely short, but...I felt the need to cut it in half, because I had a lot of important announcements to make here that I wanted to get out. Next chapter's A/N won't be so long - I doubt I'll have much to say.

**NOTE:** I had to cut this chapter short in order to get this A/N out in a timely manner, I apologize. It's still approximately 3500 words long, but the meat of the chapter will really be in chapter five.

Enjoy!

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR: SHOTS FIRED (KIND OF.) PART 1**

* * *

_Ladies and gentlemen, the great magician of flames and faith beckons you;  
A deed unanswered by the white dove that calls the right metal prison its home,  
Try to search for my feathers, North, East, West- but never South, for  
Every great wizard must at, some point,  
F  
A  
L  
L  
!_

_Love forever always,  
Kaitou KID_

* * *

Conan had fallen asleep on the way back to Beika, and when he awoke, it was already morning and there was a dove tapping on the window. It stopped and flew off as Conan shot it a venomous glare, which left no doubt in his mind as to its owner. Idiot thief should be paying attention to his own problems, and keeping out of Conan's.

Still, he grumbled a thanks that went unheard as he went through his morning routine of getting ready for school. "Conan-kun," Ran greeted him as he trudged down to the office, "you look a lot better today. Did you have fun with Kaito-kun?"

_Oh, tons of fun,_ he thought sarcastically, thinking back to how it had really just boiled down to babysitting Hattori, but bit back the retort and replaced it with a genuine-looking grin. "_Un!_ We visited Heiji-niisan, too!" Before he could divulge much more information, the doorbell rang, and Conan jumped slightly, surprised by the noise. In retaliation, one of the wilting flowers in a vase on the coffee table sprung to attention, looking more vibrant than seconds before, and Conan glared at it slightly until it returned to its original drooping position. Thankfully, Ran had went to check the door and hadn't seen his unfortunate burst in abilities, but Conan still wasn't convinced. Even the slightest amounts of nature around him were reacting to every single of his actions, and while he had to admit that they were useful in life or death scenarios, it would be both unfortunate and hard to explain if something too drastic happened in public.

"Conan-kun, it's your friends!" Thankful for the distraction, Conan made his way to the front door to put his shoes on, listening in on Ran and the others. "Oh? Where's Ai-chan?"

"The Professor-" that was Ayumi's voice, "-said that Ai-chan was sick today, and can't come to school." Haibara never got sick, and most definitely not without prior notice, which meant that she was probably researching another lead into the antidote. Well, as much as he enjoyed her company at school - _really, there weren't many other child genii to talk to, it was a shame_ \- her work was more important to them (to _him_, since he was almost positive that she had no desire of taking the antidote herself). It was best to leave her to her business than to go through the hassle of making her socialize. Anyways, she would probably try to get him to talk about what happened over the weekend, and he was in no hurry to explain his circumstances to the ever-logical shrunken scientist. "Conan-kun," Ayumi sang as he finally appeared in the doorway, "hurry up or we're going to be late!"

"Coming, coming..." He gave a quick hug to Ran - still awkward, always awkward - before joining the rest of the _tanteidan_ on their way to school. Genta, Ayumi and Mitsuhiko argued amongst themselves as to the latest plot device in Kamen Yaiba - the hero's new nemesis was _obviously_ his civilian's love interest's best friend, come _on_ \- while Conan paid more attention to their surroundings, keeping a close eye on anybody he deemed suspicious and, a new routine thanks to that weekend's antics, any rose bushes that decided to suddenly bloom out of season. They only ran into one unfortunate mishap on their way, when a shop owner accidentally dropped a flower pot full of tulips and the flowers threatened to turn the already-broken pot into dust with their writhing roots. Conan was glad to have handled that situation quickly enough so that most around them would pass it off as a delusion, but it was still too close for comfort.

And when they finally _did_ get to school...well. That was a disaster in and of itself.

"Conan-kun, what did I tell you about bringing your work to school?" Kobayashi-sensei sounded more exasperated than upset, however, as he walked into his classroom and found an annoyingly familiar caricature sketched in bright colors on the chalkboard.

Block-kanji spelled out a coded riddle that undoubtedly nobody else would be able to decipher, but to Conan it was clear as day. '_Sorry for the mess, tantei-kun, but I didn't know which locker was yours!'_ It was also clear as day that Kaito was a lying bastard, but that was a thought he wasn't going to share with the class. Instead, he picked up one of the many small business cards littering the floor and sighed at yet another riddle, this one a heist notice. "_Sensei_," he called out in a singsong voice, "I'll clean up after class, don't worry."

Kobayashi-sensei just sighed and rested her head on the desk. The things she put up with.

* * *

The _shounen tanteidan_ were really stubborn, Conan had to admit that much as he tried to shove the three of them out of the room so he could clean up. "I can do it myself," he practically shouted over their grumbling and offers to help (well, Ayumi's offers to help, really, since Mitsuhiko was ambivalent towards the matter and Genta really just wanted to eat). It took him much longer than he anticipated, but he managed to finally shuffle them out and close the door, leaning against it as he tried to make the potted plant on a shelf above him lock the door for him. A green tendril shot out from the bottom of the pot and wrapped itself around the door handle, keeping it firmly closed for the time being. It was close enough, Conan decided before turning his attention to the multitude of cards that were still scattered across the floor.

They were stock paper, which meant plant product. Kuroba was thoughtful enough in that regard, at least. Would that be enough of a connection, though, was Conan's question as his hand twitched slightly. His eyesight faded into shades of green, just as it had the day before when he had quietly threatened Hakuba, but this time it was willed into existence, not just a sudden burst of green. He wasn't quite sure how he did it himself, but the instinctive focus on nature was a plus for honing his powers. The only things that didn't give off a green hue were...everything, really, but at the same time he could pick out explicit details between the colors; metal bolts, the chalkboard, plastic chairs and tables. Those without a connection to nature were illuminated instead with a white glow.

the KID cards, just replicas of the same one that he had picked up earlier, glowed even brighter as he concentrated on them, willing them to converge until they were in a single pile. Some were more vigorous than others, flying across the room and sticking themselves halfway through the carpet, while others wiggled slowly to join the growing pile of cards. It took no more than two minutes of deep concentration, but by the time they were all in a tidy little group, Conan felt more tired than he had the day before, while dealing with the other three. "Practice makes perfect," he muttered to himself, slapping his cheeks in motivation before unwrapping the vine from the doorknob and taking a seat in the far corner of the room. Nobody would bother him during lunch, anyways, so he took the moment to pull out his cellphone and call up the only other divine beast whose number he had (although he undoubtedly had Kuroba's in there somewhere, considering who he was dealing with).

"Yo, Hattori, did you get the-"

* * *

"Tha heist notice? Yeah, the idjit only carved it inta the side a' my house. Took me a good five minutes ta come up with a reason fer dad why Kaitou KID felt the need ta caricature the roof." Hattori sighed and leaned against the metal slats that comprised the top of the house, idly molding the zinc under his fingers so that another portion of the burnt-on drawing slowly disappeared. "Ya think he sent Hakuba the message in a bottle a' water 'r somethin'?"

"_Hakuba probably didn't get one,"_ Conan's voice echoed out of the other end, even though he knew that they both knew that already. "_I'm heading over to Ekoda after school; if Hakuba didn't get a notice, then the Task Force probably won't be able to decipher the note."_ Considering the fact that it was explicitly written for the Si Xiang, that much was a given. "_Are you going to be there?"_

"A' course. Whaddaya take me for, Kudo?" A few choice words were exchanged after that comment, alongside their usual witty banter, and the two hung up with a plan to meet with Nakamori-keibu after school. Now, if only they knew how to deal with the unruly thief they were plotting against...

* * *

Nakamori Ginzo was _not_ having a good time when the two teenage detectives (or rather, the teenage detective and the child he was babysitting) walked into the conference room, each holding a piece of cardstock with the heist notice on it. It was bad enough that Hakuba's landlady - or whoever she was to him, he didn't really care - had insisted that he not be informed of the new heist notice, but it was also the hardest riddle to date.

"And _you brats_ think you've got the answer?" Conan was used to the treatment from Nakamori-keibu, needless to say, even after however long he had managed to out-smart the thief, but Hattori wasn't quite the same way, and the younger detective had to keep the Osakan in line as he spoke.

"We do, actually." Conan set his card on the table, willing it to stay still despite its magnetic attraction to his hand. Hattori did the same, and they both took seats, unnerving Nakamori with Conan's intense calm and Hattori's sharp fire. "We've managed to figure out the time, location and heist target; the only problem is the requirements that KID has set up for the next heist."

He started by pointing out the obvious. "This heist note is in English, which means that obviously he's going to be hiding hints that aren't as obvious to non-English speakers or, in this case, readers. First, we have to take into account the code that he left in the directions given."

"North, south, east an' west," Hattori explained, taking over as Conan watched with sharp eyes. It was with unease that Nakamori noticed how in tandem they worked, almost seeming to have perfectly scripted the entire explanation even though the police (and hopefully the detectives) had only received the notice mere hours ago. "He refers ta the South as having fallen; coupled with tha fact that tha poem's in English, ya can decipher the meaning ta be th'American South-"

"-which is a reference in and of itself to civil war in general. There is a large displaying of blood diamonds - diamonds that were sold directly from mines to fuel government rebellions and civil wars - and the largest of which is the Red Trench, which would be the optimal target, all things considered."

"That's the target," Nakamori growled, irritated but begrudgingly accepting of their conclusion. "And the location, since the exhibit's being held at the Ekoda conference center. What about the time?"

"Sixty forty-four in the morning," was Hattori's immediate response. "He's based everythin' round the _FALL_ at the end a' the riddle. If ya read the first letter of each line, it reads _late_. Tha 'late fall'- the fall a' the moon, AKA the sunrise. And on Saturday, tha sun's s'posed ta rise at six forty-four AM."

"But the location isn't the conference center," Conan interjected, surprising both Nakamori and Hattori - the fact that the latter was just as shocked gave Nakamori-keibu at least some smug satisfaction, at least he wasn't the only one thrown for a loop. "I've been trying to decipher the three lines from before - they can't just be placeholders for his acrostic. In fact..." The frown on his face deepened greatly, and he swore to himself, words that any other seven-year old shouldn't have acquired yet.

"No, the location _is_ the conference center. I think he's planning on holding two heists at the exact same time."

* * *

"An' he doesn't want the British bastard goin' ta _either one?_ What, has he gotten tired a' seein' Hakuba's face 'r somethin'?" Hattori was agitated, rightly so, for a whole slew of reasons. The first was the most obvious, the fact that Kaito had decided to hold two heists at once; either he was planning on having his accomplice disguise as him to pull it off, or he was going to use whatever powers he had to make it seem as though the thefts were simultaneous.

The second was the fact that Conan had flat-out _refused_ to explain his reasoning behind his deductions, giving neither the details of the target gem and the location nor the clues that had led him to that conclusion. He hadn't even told Hattori, instead stalking out of the building muttering about _stupid phantom thieves_ and _idiot birdbrains_.

At the moment, though, he simply ground his teeth and scowled at the street ahead of him. "I don't know why Hakuba wasn't invited, but I'm damn well going to-"

"Going to what?" Both Hattori and Conan spun around at the sound of the third voice, both surprised and not at all by its owner. "Pray tell why I had to _personally visit_ Nakamori-keibu before anybody decided to bother telling me that KID was holding a heist. They didn't even let me see the riddle for myself, and _then_ I receive word that it had been handled by _you two_." The disdain in Hakuba's voice was evident; they were encroaching on his territory, two teenage homicide detectives solving puzzles usually reserved for the Brit.

However, Conan determined, it wasn't time for Hakuba's piss-poor attitude, and it sure as hell wasn't time to stand around and make petty excuses. "KID doesn't want you at his heist," he muttered, making sure to emphasize _heist_ \- both a warning for Hakuba not to attend, and a sharp jab at Hattori to not mention the second heist. "And we both know that KID won't go to a heist where his terms and conditions have not been met."

"You...as to be expected of the KID killer." _Your ego's growing past your body size_. The second meaning was poorly hidden, and would have been in extremely poor taste if Conan knew that Hakuba was aware of his identity. As it was, though, he simply snorted and shot the blond the best deadpan he could muster at the moment. _Anything else, your majesty?_ "Just be careful at _your_ heist. I would hate to see one-" his gaze flickered to Hattori for the first time since the start of the conversation, a haughty gesture that didn't go unnoticed. "-or rather, _both_ of you get humiliated beyond belief."

As Hakuba took his leave, Hattori scowled at his retreating figure. "He's gonna go ta the first heist, ain't he. Nothin' we c'n do ta stop him." His anger melted into interest, though, as he turned back to Conan. "'S that why ya refused ta explain ta Nakamori-keibu? Ya knew he would try ta bully his way inta the heist, so ya withheld information that mighta slipped."

"Nah," was Conan's simple response. "If that were the case, I wouldn't have told Nakamori-keibu about the second heist at all. I fully expect Hakuba to show up at both - and if not both, then the second for sure." He frowned. "I couldn't explain the notice, because it relies heavily on what we know about the divine beasts. It was tailored specifically for us."

Upon seeing Hattori's confused glance, he continued. "The great magician of flames and faith - obviously, he's talking about himself here, referring to the powers Suzaku has over fire and the bird's deification. That's basically all it is, a title for him to slap onto his name. _A deed unanswered by the white dove_...that one was a bit harder to decipher, but I managed to figure out that it was just a play-on words. _White dove_ is redundant, however doves in Japan are just known as _white pigeons_ \- in Japanese, _hato_."

"Quite the bird fanatic," Hattori pointed out, at which Conan snorted.

"That's not the half of it. _Hato_, which also sounds like _heart_ in the English that the heist notice was written in - that leaves an unanswered deed of the heart, or rather a confession. That by itself isn't enough to go on, but then the next part of the line says that the dove calls the _metal prison of the just_ its home. A prison would be enough, but a _metal_ prison, and one of the _just_. There are too many details in those two words."

"Metal's obviously a callout ta me," was the Osakan's reply, "since Byakko controls metal. But the just part...that makes no sense. Just as in, lawful? What's that s'posed ta mean? Just, lawful..." his brow furrowed slightly as he realized where his train of thought was leading him. "...the right side a' the law. He's equated _just_ with _right_, and if ya take the double meanin', ya get a _right metal prison_."

"Mhm." Conan nodded slightly. "And coupled with the heavy influence on the cardinal directions, he's equating _right_ with _West_. East, by default, then is _left_. His coupling _South_ with _falling_, though, means South equals down while North equals up. A confession to the right, and a warning to never look down, or risk falling. What does that sound like?"

"The Satsuko Conglomeration buildin' that's directly ta the right of the Ekoda conference center, if ya were to be facin' North - 'cause obviously, he doesn't want us lookin' ta the South." However, something didn't sit well with the explanation. "Okay, so we got the location and the time a' the new heist, but you started on yer explanation with the confession, and we still dunno the target gem. It ain't like the Satsuko conglomeration keeps a bunch a' gems layin' round."

This time, the look the shrunken detective gave his friend was one of the proverbial canary-catching cat. "Yes, but the Satsuko family has a particular _prison_ for all of its valuables - a vault on the very top floor. There was a murder in the building last year that the old drunk bastard was called in for, and I got to scope out the rest of the floor while the others were paying attention to the corpse. Apparently, they've managed to grab hold of one of the nine largest peridots in the world, and it's been kept a secret in that safe for years now. Unnamed, but still precious enough to be considered a big gem. Anyways, that's not the reason why I didn't want Nakamori-keibu finding out about the second heist. The gem isn't the only reason he wants us there."

There was a beat of silence, before Hattori's face went through a full range of emotions - confusion, realization, shock, smug satisfaction. "'Cause he's gonna be givin' us that confession ya were hintin' at, eh?" Conan nodded. "And considerin' there's only one other part a' the riddle ya haven't touched yet, I'd say he's _searchin'_ fer somethin'. Izzat right?"

He only hummed lowly in response. "I guess that's for us to find out."

* * *

**GA: **That riddle was shit. I'm shit. I'm sorry that was an extremely bad chapter I'll try to finish up Part 2, but things happen.

'Til next time, I guess.

_~G. Annihilator_


End file.
